Archive for January, 2015

The Madrid players said that the meat they ate every day..was good. But Mourinho..disagreed.
…each cut required its own special preparation. According to Mourinho, this was not being carried out with the necessary skill. …The chefs had to work with dedication to cook it properly….
As the winter of 2011 passed without his complaints being resolved, the manager ordered Madrid to sack their chefs and change their butchers. Continue reading »

Half a decade. Half as long as I've been married and half as long as three of the Childerbeasts have been on this earth. That's how long I've been writing on Babaduck. The soundtrack to this piece is running through my head and it's Never Forget by Take That. Because I never forget where I've come from. Continue reading »

I could go on and on about the health benefits of juices and smoothies. Quick, easy and jam packed with vitamins, smoothies are the ultimate healthy fast food! The best thing about smoothies is you can adapt them depending on what’s in season (or what fruit you have hanging around in your fridge) which means you can enjoy a healthy and nutritious breakfast all year long!

I love trying out different flavour combos but I find it’s my Top Three Smoothie Recipes that I make all the time. Continue reading »

This is my mantra. There’s no need to spend a fortune on good, wholesome food for a family. So you’ll excuse me if I have a little rant today. I promise I did sleep on it first though!
Healthy, wholesome food is about being careful to eat more fruit and vegetables, eat in season, cook more from scratch, eat less meat protein, making the most of store cupboard staples, and planning ahead a bit.
Last night I watched a new series on BBC1 called “Eat Well For Less“. Continue reading »

“I believe the survival of the English Market over the last hundred years is down to the families who have ran the stalls from generation to generation. They have kept it going.” So said Garrett Murphy, as we chatted over a cuppa in the Farmgate Cafe. Garrett, a current stallholder, knows what he is talking about! Continue reading »

Drinking in a micronation: is there any sweeter feeling? My New Year trip to Barcelona incorporated a day in Andorra, a grey little country perched high in the Pyrenees, three hours by bus from the Catalan capital. This particular Shangri-La charges no duty or VAT on anything so tends to be thronged by the neighbours filling up on cheap booze and fags. It’s weird going to a place which is plainly designed with the wealthy in mind, but where the prices of things are comically low. Continue reading »

I could go on and on about the health benefits of smoothies. Quick, easy and jam packed with vitamins, they are the ultimate healthy fast food! The best thing about smoothies is you can adapt them depending on what’s in season which means you can enjoy a healthy and nutritious breakfast all year long! Continue reading »

This is a fairly small estate and much of the work is done by hand. This is a classic blend, half Merlot, half Cabernet Sauvignon. It is pleasant and supple on the palate, has excellent flavours and some spice. Tannins too but just about. And this superb dry wine finishes so well. Very Highly Recommended. Continue reading »

In late 2014, Michael Kelly got in touch to see if I’d like to review his new book; Grow Cook Eat. So I owe him an apology for taking so long to get this review done. Sorry Michael!
Mind you, it’s about the right time of the year to start considering growing your own food. Continue reading »

[turkey harvests.]
holidays.
new Years.
[weddings.]
Birthdays.
New beginnings.
[old friends.]
[Family time.]
farming time.
Flax Dreams.
linen Fairs.
[Milk Jam.]
beach walks.
[Cookbook Edits.]
Paris [Through the Excited Eyes of a Little Farmer.]
More life, less blogging.
Rather than banter on about all the reasons it’s been awhile since my last blogpost in 5000+ words, I thought it might be nicer to sum it up e.e. cummings-style. Bit more poetic, right? Continue reading »

The same smallish set of foreign breweries tended to show up on the blackboards of Barcelona’s craft beer bars when I visited, though all obviously chosen for their geek-drawing power. The Brits seem to be doing particularly well out of the inbound keg trade. Take BierCaB, for instance. The high-tech, high-concept, high-stool, eye of the Barcelona craft beer storm counted Siren and Weird Beard among its tap offerings when I was there. Continue reading »

Del Duque Amontillado, Jerez (aged 30 years), 21.5%, €22.99 Bradley’s, North Main Street.
The minute she walked in the room, I lost all chance of keeping the precious 37.5cl bottle of Del Duque Amontillado for myself.

“What is that aroma?”, she asked, enthusiastically. “Toastie? Caramel? So sharp. So clear. Where is is coming from?” I just had to offer her a glass. Knowing full well it wouldn’t stop at that. Continue reading »

A gentle aroma of buttyer frying hung in the air as I walked into OX. Or at least, I think it was buttery and pan-related. Irrespective of the source of the aroma, it was the perfect welcoming touch at this very hot and very popular restaurant in Belfast. The bleak exterior gives nothing away, but inside the ceiling high windows flood the room with light, caressing the golden wooden furniture and surprisingly warm blue woodwork. Continue reading »

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Every cook we know loves their iPad (or lusts after one) for clipping, reading and cooking from online recipes right in the kitchen. Well, Clickcase.ie has what may be the ultimate kitchen gadget for iPad lovers: the Speck Handyshell slots around your iPad 2 so it can be hung from any rack, drawer or cabinet knob, keeping your iPad at eye level and safe from spills and mess. Genius!

Clickcase, Irish retailer of brilliant iPad and iPhone accessories, is giving one crimble red Handyshell away to a FoodFight.ie reader just in time for Christmas. To enter, all you have to do is head over to the Clickcase Facebook page before December 8th and tell us why you love your iPad or iPhone in the kitchen!

This November The Great Irish Bake is back and Kitchen Hero Donal Skehan is helping out with sharing recipes and promoting the event. The Great Irish Bake is in aid of helping sick and seriously ill children get the treatment they need. Head over to The Great Irish Bake to register online and be in the chance of winning a trip to New York when you help raise funds for Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. The site also has hints, tips, recipes and all that goes with an event like this.

This is the Facebook for The Great Irish Bake and of course the Twitter hashtag is: #thegreatirishbake

The Great Irish Bake organisers have shared a recipe with us and also a picture of Donal Skehan with his kids from his first marriage. Some of this might be a lie.

The Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a standalone mixture beat together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and
mix through.
3. Using a wooden spoon mix through the flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice
and vanilla extract until you have a biscuit dough.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and roll out to about 1cm in thickness.
5. Cut out biscuit shapes, place on the lined baking tray, then using a smaller cutter
or a small knife cut out the center of each cookie.
6. Sprinkle the crushed sweets into the centre of the cookie and place in the oven
7. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire
wrack.

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